Jenni Frankenberg Veal's Blog (15)

Fourth-grade teachers at Lookout Mountain Elementary School in Chattanooga, Tenn., have implemented an informal writing program, EarthWrite, which they say encourages wonder and inspiration in the outdoors. According to teachers Susan Frankenberg and Cindy Jayne, the response of their students to EarthWrite is nothing short of remarkable...

The Tennessee Aquarium recently hosted author, blogger and naturalist David Mizejewski – the voice of the National Wildlife Federation – in Chattanooga to promote the benefits of outdoor play and environment-based activities such as the aquarium’s Spring Break Keeper Kids program.…

Highland Plaza United Methodist Preschool in Hixson, Tenn., is changing the way their students spend time outdoors. The preschool has converted a traditional playground and land surrounding their school into a wooded wonderland, an enchanting natural playscape that encourages children to wonder and explore outside.

Vicky Flessner, the preschool’s director of 21 years, and her staff, with the assistance of parent volunteers, have worked for four years to raise funds, map out and design…

"For the children? They must grow up upon the best. There is never a time when they are unequal to worthy thoughts, well put; inspiring tales, well told.” – British educator Charlotte Mason (1842-1923)

Consider giving the gift of books this holiday season, with a Charlotte Mason twist: living books that inspire and cultivate an interest in the natural world.

Scientists from most disciplines agree that science and conservation efforts today and in the future will absolutely require naturalists, individuals who understand the natural world around them. However, if naturalists must be groomed in childhood, society as a whole – and particularly parents – must address how children are spending their time each day.

“We were all meant to be naturalists, each to his degree, and it is inexcusable to live in a world so full of the marvels of plant and animal life and to care for none of these things.” - Charlotte Mason

I was given a copy of Susan Schaeffer Macaulay’s book For the Children’s Sake: Foundations of Education for Home and School when my oldest daughter began kindergarten. The school she was to attend follows the philosophy of a revolutionary British educator, Charlotte…

My husband and I have been married for 10 years now, and occassionally we forget our romantic beginnings. We met during the design and construction of the George S. Bryan Discovery Forest Treehouse at (what is now) the Chattanooga Aboretum and Nature Center in Southeast Tennessee. I was the nature center’s director and Monty was the artist / contractor who designed and built the 750-square-foot treehouse in the arms of a 250+…